Bill Zortman: We want to welcome to the airwaves Dr. Lou George this morning, from Siouxland Oral Surgery. Dr. George, good morning.
Dr. Lou George: Morning, Bill; it’s nice to be here with you today.
Bill: One of the things we hear from Mayor Huether is that a lot of people do not know some of our businesses. So this morning, because the mayor endorses our show, we want you to tell us — what is the Siouxland Oral Surgery difference.
Dr. George: Well, you know when patients come to our office, we really like to create a very comfortable and relaxing environment for them. Most folks do not really enjoy having to have dental procedures, never mind surgical procedures. So really, our primary goal is to make sure that comfort is top of the list for them so that they can always be ready to come back and join us again if they should ever need us.
Bill: One of the things that I have been able to talk to you about is the fact that you do visit with a lot of dentists in the area. Why is that so important?
Dr. George: Well, visiting with our referrals is very important in the fact that we keep the lines of communication open and making sure that we are executing properly, not only for their office but what’s in the best interest of the patient. The team approach to our type of work is vital in making sure the patient has optimum outcomes, and so we really always stress keeping the lines of communication open so that everyone’s happy.
Bill: Your partner is Dr. Dennis Miller. Dr. Miller, good morning.
Dr. Denis Miller: Good morning, Bill. How are you? Happy to be here.
Bill: I understand, putting it in one sentence: you’re not just another dentist.
Dr. Miller: Right. Oral and Maxillofacial surgery requires an additional four years to six years of residency training at the hospital level. Our background, our foundation is dentistry, and that’s where we interact with all of our colleagues in the general dental field, but we do go on to specialty training, so we can become very good at the surgical aspect of dentistry.
Bill: The other thing, Dr. George and Dr. Miller, that I really noticed was important is that if there are emergencies, you’ll get them in.
Dr. George: Oh, absolutely. Nobody wants to be in pain; nobody wants to be in discomfort and have not only the physical symptoms that go along with that but also the worrying and anxiety. So when we receive a phone call from one our referrals or from a patient, and they’re having any kind of concerns, we try to get them in immediately so that we can get the problem resolved for them. That’s a very important part of our job.
Bill: Dental implants – and you have more than just Sioux Falls that you deal with.
Dr. George: Yes, sir.
Bill: And that would include Mitchell, Brookings, and Yankton.
Dr. George: Yes, we have satellite offices in all three of those cities.
Bill: So with the fact that you really are the go-to place here in South Dakota, we do find that you guys have the expertise. You haven’t been doing this just a year or two. How long have you guys been in business?
Dr. Miller: I started here in 1999, finished my residency in 1998, and came here to Sioux Falls ever since then, and we started having a regional presence since 2004. And Dr. George –
Dr. George: And I finished residency in 2007, and I came here directly from residency. But Siouxland Oral Surgery itself has been around for over 30 years, so we are really joining an institution in oral surgery here in South Dakota.
Bill: So we have listeners out there today that are saying, gee maybe I should visit with Siouxland Oral Surgery. How do they reach you guys?
Dr. George: Well, they can go to our website directly at siouxlandoralsurgery.com, or they can call our main office number at (605) 335-1080, and one of our receptionists or schedulers will be happy to get them set up for an appointment so that we can come in and talk.
Bill: You diagnose and treat facial pain. Is that important in this 2016 year?
Dr. Miller: Facial pain of any sort is always important. It can come from a number of different sources: tooth pain, muscle pain, joint pain. So part of our job is to try and parse out where that all comes from, and we get a really good helping hand from our referral base, our general dental colleagues. I think a lot of times we’ll be able to point out where it’s tooth pain or where it’s joint pain or muscle pain and then we get the referrals from there, and we can treat the patient as it’s best for them using a variety of different modalities.
Dr. George: It’s also important to note, Bill, that patients who suffer from chronic facial pain oftentimes need someone to be able to sit down and listen to their story. We find more often than not that the narrative is very important, and putting pieces of the puzzle together can often give us the clues we need to not only correctly diagnose them but get them some relief where they’ve been unsuccessful in the past.
Dr. Miller: I just want to jump in and add to that. We’re team players not only with the general dental field, but when there’s a crossover in oral surgery where we’ve got one foot firmly in dentistry but another foot firmly in medicine and with the hospitals. So with regards to facial pain as a generality, we’re the bridge that helps find medical help for these patients as well.
Bill: Dr. Dennis Miller and Dr. Lou George, Siouxland Oral Surgery. I find it interesting too that you guys donate — donate some dentistry.
Dr. Miller: Yes, sir. We belong to the South Dakota Dental Association. They have a program there where people who definitely need significant work but don’t have the funds to do it — the working poor, if you will; we work with their general dentist, with the lab, and we provide the surgical services, and that’s known as the donated dental service or donated dental program run through the South Dakota Dental Association. And that’s just one of the many ways that we give back to our community.
Dr. George: That’s right; that’s right.
Bill: Dr. Lou George, Dr. Dennis Miller, Siouxland Oral Surgery. We appreciate the visit; we know that you can help a lot of people.
Dr. George: Thank you very much, Bill. We appreciate the opportunity to be on your show.
Dr. Miller: Yes, thank you so much, Bill.